‘I’m making a life for myself, Don. Partly so that you don’t have to worry about me being lonely when you move.’
Don looked a bit guilty. ‘I guess you are, and it is good that you’re getting out and about now, Mum. But please be careful.’
‘Of course I will. I’ll be fine I promise. I’ll be enjoying two weeks in the sun with a good friend.’
At least she hoped she would. As Don had pointed out, she didn’t know Patti’s brother and his wife. It will be okay, I can always take myself off for a bit if things are awkward. She looked at her tattoo. ‘Embrace change, love life.’
That’s exactly what she intended to do. Now she was going to get her passport and check herself in. She couldn’t wait to go to Spain.
20
MARY
Spain
‘Patti’s coming over on Wednesday and she’s bringing a friend with her,’ Mary said as she walked into the lounge where Keith was glued to the TV.
‘That’s good,’ he replied without glancing away from the screen.
Mary suppressed the annoyance that flooded through her. Patti was his sister and was making a big effort to come and see them. He could at least show an interest.
‘Keith!’ she said in exasperation.
Irritation flickered in his eyes as he dragged his attention away from the film. ‘What?’
‘We need to plan where we’re going to take them both. I was thinking Fuengirola, Mijas Pueblo and maybe Málaga for shopping. And we could have a couple of meals out. What do you think?’
‘They’ll probably be happy to sunbathe by the pool most ofthe time and have a bit of a chat. Me and Patti have a lot to catch up on.’
‘They’re coming for two weeks, Keith. They’ll want to do more than sit around the pool. They’ll want to see a bit of the place.’
Keith’s eyes flicked back to the TV. ‘That’s okay, you girls go off out for some day trips. I don’t mind.’
Mary plonked herself on the sofa next to him. ‘You should come too. Patti’s your sister. She’s travelling all this way, for the first time too, and you know how scared she is of flying. You should make an effort and spend some time with her and show her and her friend a bit of Spain.’
‘There will be plenty of chance for us to have a natter and catch up, but I don’t want to cramp your style and hang around with you all. I’m sure you’d much prefer to have a couple of hours out shopping by yourselves.’
Make that, he didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to doanythingsince the heart attack – which had been months ago. But he also didn’t like her going out and leaving him alone for long either, in case anything happened. He was obviously prepared to make an exception for her to go out with Patti and Sandra, but wasn’t going to make the effort himself.
She sighed. Keith’s attention was now back on the TV programme. He couldn’t carry on shutting himself away like this. It wasn’t good for him. She knew that the heart attack had frightened him. It had happened late at night, and Mary had only just returned from a night out for a friend’s birthday. Apparently, Keith had been having what he thought was indigestion for the past hour and was going to bed to sleep it off, but Mary knew it was a heart attack right away, gave him an aspirin and took him to the hospital. The aspirin and Mary’s prompt action had saved his life, the surgeon told them. They were marvellous at the hospitaland treated Keith immediately, he’d had a stent fitted the next day. It had been a harrowing experience for both of them, she couldn’t stop thinking of what might have happened if she hadn’t come home when she did, if she hadn’t given Keith that aspirin, and like Keith, she lived in fear for a while afterwards that it might happen again. She couldn’t bear to lose him. And she certainly didn’t want to be here in Spain all by herself.
Gradually she learnt not to worry so much. Keith had a couple of follow-on check-ups and the nice Spanish doctor, who spoke very good English, informed them that Keith was fit and well, and to get on with his life. ‘Everything in moderation,’ he’d said. ‘A bit of wine, the occasional piece of cake – those are fine. Just make sure you take regular exercise and eat lots of fruit, veg, white meat and fish too.’
Keith’s regular exercise consisted of walking around the garden and doing a bit of weeding. His anxiety hadn’t lessened with time though. He still lived in fear of having another heart attack and not being so lucky, so didn’t want to exert himself or go far from home. She really hoped that Patti and her friend, Sandra, coming over would encourage him to get out a bit. Surely he wouldn’t want to stay home alone while they all went sightseeing?
‘We need to do a shop for when they come. And we’d better give the casita a bit of clean, ready for them,’ she said.
‘We’ve got plenty of time. There’s a couple of days yet before they arrive,’ he said. ‘Don’t stress.’
‘Don’t stress’ was his new favourite expression. The doctor had told him not to stress after his heart attack, so it was a mantra he kept repeating, both to himself and to her. The trouble was, his attitude caused her alotof stress, because it meant everything was left to her.
‘I’ll make a start now, no good leaving everything to the lastminute.’ She got up and walked out, fighting down the urge to shake him.
Patti’s visit couldn’t come soon enough.
The casita was past the pool, down a short path tucked in behind a couple of fir trees. It hadn’t been used for a while. The last visitors were Mary’s sister and partner last year before Keith’s heart attack, but she always kept it clean and tidy. A quick vacuum and wipe around was all it needed. There was a decent sized lounge and kitchen area, with a cooker, microwave, wooden table and four chairs, and a range of cupboards along the wall containing cutlery, pots and pans, etc., then two bedrooms, each with a double bed and a wardrobe, a bathroom with a shower and the inevitable bidet. Out front was a small, fenced patio area with a table and chairs, so that their visitors could sit and enjoy the sunshine while enjoying a cup of tea in private, if they wanted. She suspected Patti would want to go over to the big house and chat to Keith, but she was sure that Sandra might want a bit of time to herself. Patti said that she and Sandra had worked at the supermarket together years ago, and she’d recently lost her husband. It was kind of her to travel with Patti, she didn’t think her sister-in-law would have plucked up the courage to travel alone. She’d always been terrified of flying.
This was a big step for Patti. She’d come through a lot too. Mary remembered how shocked she and Keith were when Patti had told them, fighting back the tears, that she had cancer. Patti had tried to smile, talk positive, tell them she was going to fight it, but even through the computer screen, they could hear the sadness in her voice and see the fear in her eyes. She’d done it though. Keith had been worried when she’d taken the step to move back to Worcester a couple of months ago. ‘Why put herself through all the stress of moving when she’s just come through cancer?’ he’d said. ‘She should be taking it easy.’ And now shewas getting on an aeroplane for the very first time. Patti had clearly decided to grasp this second chance of life. Mary just hoped she could convince her older brother to do the same. Patti was only a few years younger than him but she was embracing life whereas Keith seemed to be giving up on it.
